The Legend of Shadeus: Awakening
by DannyDisaster94
Summary: Set one thousand years after the events in dawn of the dragon, the apes wage war on the dragons once again with only one thing in their minds, revenge. During the early days of the war the dragons seem to be loosing little by little, as the apes relentlessly push forward. Shadeus must awaken the powers that lay dormant inside him for dragon kind to have a chance at survival.
1. Chapter 1

Prologue.

A neon green dragon walked through the crowded streets of Warfang's lower market, he was nearing the end of his teenage year. As he walked his eyes scanned the different stands where others, dragons and moles alike, where selling their goods. His stare locked on a butchers stand, a small, wicked smile tugged at his cheeks. He walk to the mole who was standing behind the counter, trying to put on his most innocent face.

He stood at the counter for a few seconds inspecting the assortment of meats, his mouth started watering as he imagined himself chewing the juicy meat.

"Can I help you?" Asked the mole in a rather annoyed tone, snapping the dragon out of his day dream. The young dragon's brow twitched lightly, he wasn't going to regret what he was about to do, not one bit.

"Ah, yes." He acted sheepish, grinning like a moron. "I was wondering how much it would be for that piece of meat?" He asked pointing a black claw to the largest chunk of meat of the stand.

The mole glanced back at toward where the dragon was pointing. "That will be thirty gems." Said the mole looking back at the neon green dragon.

The dragon's eyes widened, truly surprised. "Really!" He almost shouted, the mole just nodded. "It becomes more expensive each week that passes."

"Indeed, no one is up to go hunting after the recent events." Said the mole shaking his head. Over the past couple of week rumors have been spreading of small and secluded villages being attacked by apes. The rumors caused a lot of fear within the inhabitants of the city the last conflict the dragons had with the apes lasted about a thousand year, finally bringing about the end of the world, but two celestial dragons defeated the great destroyer and stopped the end, according to the history books that is, but the dragons now were skeptic. They dismissed the stories of the two celestial and the destroyer as pure fabrications and ancient legends.

"Well, makes sense." Said the young dragon nodding sternly. He then sighed and looked at the butcher. "There's no way I can afford that." He said dejectedly. "Thanks for your time anyways." The young dragon started to walk away.

"Yeah, Whatever." Said the mole turning around, he looked up to find the chunk of meat missing. "How in the world?" He jumped around screaming. "Hey! Get back here you thief!" But the young dragon just ran through the crowd.

He arrived at an abandoned pavilion in the lower parts of the city, he looked around making sure he was alone. He then slipped through the door and closed behind him.

He flopped down on a cushion with a grunt. He grinned with satisfaction and looked at the shadows that covered the corners of the room. "Did you manage to see his face when he notice?" He asked the shadows, chuckling lightly.

The shadows began to grow larger, turning a big part of the room pitch black. From the shadows walk out a black dragon holding the chunk of meat in his jaws. He sat down on a cushion next to the neon green dragon and set the meat between them. He then looked up to the other dragon and smirked. "Priceless." He then move his tail so his spade was right in front of him, the green dragon did the same and they slapped their spades.

"Aw, damn. I didn't see it this time." Said the green dragon looking somehow disappointed.

"Don't worry, brother. You'll see it next time." The black dragon smiled at his brother who only raised a brow.

"Are you trying to baby me, Shade?"

Shade chuckled, he was expecting this answer. "Hey, I have to make it up to you, Arsenic." He said looking away from his brother. A sudden sense of dread took over the room. Shade looked up to his brother with tears about to fall from his eyes. "I miss them, brother." He looked down to his paws as a single tear slid down his muzzle and dropped down to his paws.

Arsenic stood up from his cushion and walked to his little brother. He sat down besides him and wrapped a wing over his body. He was a full head taller than Shade, yet his wing couldn't cover his brother completely anymore, it seemed like days ago he was still a hatchling. Shade was growing faster than Arsenic had expected, he knew their parents would be proud, if only they were still with them.

Shade turned his head and buried it in his brothers chest, crying softly. "Don't worry, brother." Said Arsenic in the most reassuring voice he could muster, pulling his brother closer to him. He was having a hard time keeping his voice from cracking due to the knot that was building in his heart and moving up his throat, but he couldn't cry, not in front of Shade, he had to be strong for them both. "We'll make it together."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter one.

The sun's rays pierced through the holes in the curtains of Arsenic and Shade's pavilion, one of the rays hit Arsenic square in the face. He groaned as he turned his face away from the sun, he hadn't slept well at all. He had been dreaming of his parents, it was a memory he revived almost every night, filling his heart with sorrow.

Both of his parents laid on their cushion, his mother, Nyght, was sleeping with a baby Shade curled in between her forelegs. Next to her was his father, Mephic, who had a wing wrapped around her. Arsenic could only watch as his mother's breathing became slower and shorter with each passing second, until it stopped. Mephic nuzzled her and gave her a final goodby kiss on the cheek. The dreadful silence of the room was broken when Arsenic started Whimpering, the sorrowful cries stabbed Mephic in the heart. He was about to leave this world just like his mate, and leave two hatchlings to fend for themselves with no one to turn to. As tears began to flow from his eyes he looked at Arsenic, who had scooted closer to his mother and cried silently.

"Arsenic come closer." He said as best as he could but the disease had taken it's toll on him, all he managed to do was whisper. Nevertheless Arsenic walked towards him, reluctant to leave his mothers side. "Son, I have something very important to ask of you." He lifted his head with a lot of effort to look his son in the eye, Arsenic's eyes were streaming and he was biting his lower lip to keep from crying out loud. "Son, you know we love you, right?" Arsenic nodded slowly looking at his father in the eye, which looked a lot duller than his normal Neon green orbs. "Good, always keep that in mind." He sighed, looking over at his mate, finally resting in peace after weeks of suffering. "I want you to look out for your brother, stick together always. I want you to be strong for him and you, both, but above all, I want you to be happy." He managed to force a small smile when his son nodded. "We'll be watching over you two." With all the strength he had left he took both of his son with his arms and hugged them.

Shade watched from his pillow as his brother cried in his sleep, he didn't know what he was dreaming but had a pretty good idea. He sighed to himself and turned his face away from him. His brother had to be strong for them both, but Shade had to be strong too, so Shade never confronted him about his nightmares, he knew it would do more harm than good to him. He closed his eyes and pretended to be asleep when he heard his brother yawn and stand up.

Shade yawned and began to stretch himself still laying down, he was a rather easy-going kind if dragon. Arsenic looked at Shade and snickered when he saw him stretching and collapse back down, Shade could say anything he wanted about being a relaxed kind of guy but Arsenic knew that deep inside he was plain lazy.

"What's so funny?" Mumbled Shade half opening an eye to look at his brother.

"Nothing, just your easy-goingness." He replied with a wide smile on his lips. Shade just rolled his closed eyes. "See? You don't even open your eyes to roll them, you lazy ass!" Arsenic was now grinning, Shade growled but then smiled.

"It's not that, moron." Said Shade as he opened his eyes and rose from his pillow, his brother raise a skeptical brow. "You know that I'm pretty much brain dead at least for an hour after I wake up." They both chuckled at this, it was indeed true for the black dragon to have a waking up problem. "What are we doing today?" He asked after taking a gulp of water from one of the bowl lying through out the pavilion.

"Well, You and I were invited to Astra's for a small reunion." Astra was one of Arsenic's friend, to shade it was incredible that his brother had so many acquaintances. Besides his brother, he had never really talked with anyone, he only spoke to be polite.

"Oh?" Said Shade with a confused face, trying to recall the invitation. After a few seconds he gave up trying to remember. "I think I'll pass."

"Really? Are you going to ditch me again?" Asked his brother making an act of being stabbed in the heart.

Shade rolled his eyes but couldn't hide the smile that was tugging at his cheeks. "Yeah, you know I'm not into the whole party thing."

"Aw, come on brother." Said Arsenic wrapping a wing around his brother's shoulders. "I think you should go and socialize with other dragons, maybe you'll meet the smoking hot dragoness of your dreams." He winked at his brother, who looked away. His brother knew that he wanted a significant other, he had told him in one of their many talks.

"Nah, I really don't feel like going." He said keeping the smile on his face. "Maybe next time."

"Well then." Said Arsenic as he made his way to the door. "See you at night, little brother. Be good." He said in a mocking tone but meant every word, Shade knew this and smiled to himself. He would be totally lost if it weren't for his brother, he felt lucky to have him.

Shade spent most of the day skulking around with nothing to do. When it was almost sun down he decided to take a walk in the park and relax a little. He was walking through a dark alley on his way to a nearby courtyard when all of a sudden a force struck him from behind and made him fall down, face first, in the ground. He growled and turned around with a heated glare, but what he saw left him at a loss of words. Before him stood a red dragoness with orange underbelly and orange eyes, she had a golden necklace with a blue gem hanging from it, which made her look like royalty. She picked herself off the ground and approached him, a sense of urgency around her.

"Please, you have to help me!" She said panicking, Shade just looked at her confused and tilted his head to the side. Taking the cue she began to explain. "I was going to the hatchery nearby to tend to the eggs, when out of nowhere three dragons jumped me and tried to take my necklace. Please, help me!" She was on the verge hysteria now.

"Go hide. I'll take care of them." Said Shade using the most comforting tone he could, the dragoness just nodded vigorously and hid behind some boxes. The alley was dark, the shadows covered most of it, perfect for what shade was going to do. Shade walked to a corner and disappeared from sight.

Just a few seconds later three dragons barreled through the alley and stopped at the middle. "You sure she went this way?" Asked the leader.

"Positive." Replied the dragon to his right, he then breathed in through his nose and let it out with his mouth. "I can still smell her." He said licking his lips.

"Come out wherever you are and we promise no to hurt you." The leader shouted. "A lot." He added, softer this time.

"Looking for someone?" Asked a voice behind them, they snapped around to find the alley empty.

"Show yourself!" Shouted the leader, looking around in the darkness of the alley.

"I'm right here." Said the voice again from behind. The leader took a cautious step towards the corner where he had heard the voice, when he got closer two grey eyes snapped open. "Surprise!"

Shade jumped out of the shadows and knocked the leader to the ground, then he dug his teeth in the thief's shoulder making him scream in agony. Both of his cronies lunged for shade who fell backward to the ground and disappeared, then he burst out from behind them. He used his tails as a whip and hit the hind legs of the confused attackers they fell on their haunches and Shade lunged at the two with his front paws outstretched. He took each head with one paw and drove them towards the ground with all his weight, both dragons hit the ground hard and fell unconscious. Without loosing a beat shade

dove into the ground and disappeared form sight.

The leader stood up and looked at his sidekicks who were unconscious and bleeding from a deep gash on their foreheads, he cringed as he looked at his bleeding shoulder. "What in the ancestor's name are you?" He screamed at the alley but no one answered this time.

Shade appeared from behind the thug and hit him hard in the back of the head with the flat of his tail blade, rendering him unconscious. He looked over his handy-work and felt a little proud of how good he could handle himself. "You can come out now, the problem has been dealt with."

Shade looked towards where the dragoness was hiding, her head poke out from behind the boxes. Her jaw dropped when she saw the scene before her, the black dragon stood over the bodies of her attackers. She walked towards Shade almost trembling, her eyes wide and her mouth agape. "Are they dead?" She asked in shock, hear eyes darting from one body to the other.

"Nope, they are just unconscious." Replied Shade looking at the trembling dragoness, she looked like she was going to breakdown any moment. "Are you alright?" Shade asked concerned and surprised at the dragoness's state, crime and violence was something he was not used to but this dragoness seemed to have never laid her eyes on blood.

"Y-yes, I'm just shocked that's all." She said looking at Shade, fear still lingering in her eyes. "Thank you." She said trying to force a smile but she wasn't very successful. Shade's mouth turned into a small smile, he nodded lightly acknowledging her words.

Shade began making his way toward the courtyard again. "Wait!" Shade turned his head around to look at the red dragoness, she shakily walked up to him. "Can you escort me to my home, please?" She asked her voice thick with fear. "It's just that I don't feel safe walking around here anymore." Shade was surprised by the request but nodded nonetheless.

"Lead the way."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter two.

After walking for about forty five minutes, Shade and the dragoness arrive to a pavilion in a much nicer part of the city, in here the dragon pavilions where more decorated than the ones near Shade's home. Neither dragon had spoke since they started heading for the dragoness's pavilion, but Shade could tell that she was amongst the highest class in the city.

Shade was staring at the pavilion's, slightly awed by their size, when the dragoness spoke. "Thank you for saving me back there." She was a lot calmer now. "I don't want to think what they would have done to me if I hadn't bumped into you."

"Don't mention it." Replied Shade plainly, he had a pretty good idea of what would have happened to her and the though of it made his temper rise. He and his brother were both thieves so he wasn't completely innocent, but neither of them would ever consider doing such a thing.

"You never told me your name." She stated, looking at Shade out of the corner of her eye. By now she had figured that the black dragon wasn't much of a talker but she needed to know the name of her savior. "Mine's Glare." She smiled and turned to Shade waiting for an answer.

"I'm Shadeus."

Glare turned to stand in front of Shade and bowed her head. "Well, nice to meet you, Shadeus." Shade was a little taken aback by the gesture, back home no one bowed to anybody. "I'll be forever grateful to you for assisting me today." Shade just looked at her dumbfounded, Glare giggled when she saw the look on the black dragon's face. "Why so shocked?" She asked teasingly, her lips turned into a smirk.

Shade shook his head as if waking up from a dream. "It's nothing, just that from where I come from no one is so..." Shade drifted of a little, trying to find a word that would fit. Glare tilted her head lightly, waiting for the next word. "Polite. That's it."

Glare nodded in acknowledgment. "Well, being the daughter of the guardian of fire you need to be like this."

Now it made sense to Shade, the expensive jewelry, the pavilion in the higher parts of the city, the way she spoke. There was only one thing he didn't understand. "What were you doing in the lower parts? if you don't mind me asking." He asked trying to sound as polite as possible.

"I'm studying to be a healer and I have to take care of a group of eggs in the lower hatchery." She said proudly, with a smile on her lips and her chin held high. "What were you doing when I crashed into you? If you don't mind me asking." She asked smiling, clearly mimicking Shade's question.

Shade couldn't help but chuckle a little. "I was on my way to a courtyard to watch the sun set." Most dragons would have laughed at him, but to Shade the sunset was the moment of the day when he felt that the day was beginning for him. The moment where the world would be cast in shadows and he would feel his body swell with energy.

Glare snickered, amused by the black dragon's reason, not many males had the guts to say something like this. Shade glared at her, clearly no amused. Glare noticed and put her paws up defensively. "Hey, I'm not making fun of you, it's just that I never expected that a dragon like you enjoyed sunsets." She seemed sincere enough so Shade just let it slip, he nodded his head lightly indicating that it was forgiven. "Sorry for spoiling your evening plans, Shadeus."

"It's alright, I would trade helping someone in need for a sunset any day." He said, smiling reassuringly.

"Aw, you're so nice." Glare said smiling at Shade. Shade's smile turned from reassuring to nervous, he wasn't used to getting compliment from strangers. "Let me make it up to you."

"There's no need." Said Shade shaking his head dismissively. "I didn't help you to get a reward."

Glare smiled at Shade, a little surprised by his humility. "I know, but still, I would like to thank you in some way." She started tapping at the stone floor, thinking of a way she could make it up to the black dragon. "How about you come here tomorrow and watch the sunset from my yard?" She asked smiling, Shade was caught of guard by her offer. Shade's eyes widened as his head recoiled lightly, was this dragoness really that trusting? No wonder she had almost been robbed. Seeing Shade's reaction made her smile grow wider. "Come on, I think you'll enjoy the view from here." She said making puppy eyes and sticking her lower lip out.

Shade looked at her, not sure if he should accept the invitation or not. He felt like he shouldn't be in this part of the city, like he didn't belong amongst the high class, but he also didn't want to refuse. She seemed like she meant what she said, he needed to think this over. "I'll consider it." He said finally after contemplating his options.

"Great!" Glare was visibly happy that Shade would consider her offer, truth be told, she was expecting him to refuse right away. "Meet me here before sundown tomorrow." Shade nodded and turned to leave, when glare called from behind him. "Good night, Shadeus." She vigorously waving a wing at him.

"Night." Shade replied waving his own wing, but not with the same enthusiasm. He had walked a few paces away from Glare's pavilion when he turned his head to look at her her. "And you can call me Shade."

Arsenic was sitting down on a cushion inside a pavilion, besides him sat a pale blue dragoness resting her head on his shoulder. He had a wing draped over her, caressing her slender body. She nuzzled him under the jaw and her talons drew circles on his chest, making Arsenic growl in satisfaction.

"Be right back, stud." She whispered in his ear and stood up, rubbing her body with his shoulders. As she walked away she dragged her tail along his chest, to his neck, making Arsenic shiver a little. She smiled seductively at him as she walk out of the room.

"You two should get a room already." Mocked a green dragon as he walked towards where Arsenic was sitting, Arsenic rolled his eyes at him but smiled nonetheless. "Did you hear what happened to Flash and his gang?"

"Not really, I've been busy." He said, winking at the other male.

The green dragon chuckled. "I noticed." He nodded, understanding what Arsenic was referring to. "They were trashed, some guys found them unconscious in a alley. Flash had a nasty bruise on the back of his head and the other two had it in their foreheads." He said snickering, amused that the so called 'toughest dragons of the city' were found in such a state. Arsenic snickered too, but because he had a sneaky suspicion of who was the attacker. "When they woke up the said that they were attacked by a spirit." The green dragon was laughing now, this last detail confirmed Arsenic's theory. It had been his

brother who had beaten the thugs, he was the only dragon that could take on three adults without being noticed. The only thing unclear to him now was his reasons, but he would find that out when he got home.

Arsenic snorted, he didn't like the gang one bit. They had made him various offers to join them, but he had refused each time. "Serves them right. I'm sure they were trying to rob someone but picked a bad victim."

The Green dragon smiled, this was exactly what he was thinking. That they picked a fight with someone that was more than a match for them and came up with that ridiculous story to try save their pride. "You read my mind there, lad." He noticed that the blue dragoness was returning, so he decided to leave.

The dragoness walked besides Arsenic and sat down on her spot, nuzzling him under the chin. "What were you two talking about?" She asked laying her head on his shoulder, she wrapped her tail around his and purred like a cat, happy to have Arsenic's warm body beside her.

"Terracus was just telling me about how flash's gang got beaten today." He said, smirking again at the thought of his brother whipping the floor with the arrogant thug.

"Serves them right." She said, happy that finally they had gotten what they deserved. "I'm glad that they finally found someone they couldn't handle."

"My thoughts exactly." Nodded Arsenic, he was happy to have met Astra. They shared so much in common that their friendship quickly became something more.

"Say, why don't we go to your place for a while and forget everything else." Astra whispered in Arsenic's ear, tickling his ear with her soft voice. He had been waiting some time for an opportunity like this, to get a little more intimate with her, but Shade would probably be at home by now, so it would be a little more than awkward for the three of them.

"Aw, sorry babe, but my brother is probably home by now." He said sadly, he felt Astra's shoulders slump a little. "But don't worry, tomorrow we can go out together to a secret place, just the two of us." Whispered Arsenic in her ear, Astra purred when she felt him kiss her on the neck.

"Sounds good to me." She said caressing his chest again, with her head on his shoulder she felt the vibration of his content growl.

"Then it's set." He gave her a peck on the lips. "Tomorrow I'll come pick you up around midday." He said as he stood up, it was well past sundown and most of the dragons that had been there on the evening where gone leaving the two of the them mostly alone.

Arsenic turned to face Astra and wrapped his wings around her, pulling her close to his chest. She smiled up at him and kissed him deeply, pressing even closer to him. When they broke away she stared deeply into his bight yellow eyes, Shade felt his heart quicken. She was truly beautiful, her indigo underbelly made a striking contras with her pale blue hide.

He gave her another peck on the lips as he pulled his wings back to his sides. "Good night, beautiful."

Astra giggled childishly. "Night, handsome." She said as Arsenic left the pavilion.

When Arsenic got home Shade was already there, he was laying on his cushion tearing at some dry meats. He looked up from his meal when he heard his brother enter their home, Arsenic looked at his brother and shook his head smirking.

"What? I got you some, too." Said Shade pointing at a bowl full of meat in front of his brothers pillow.

"It's not that, little bro." He said as he sat on his pillow and took a piece of meat in his claws, Shade raised a brow clearly confused. He took a bite of the dried meat, it was goat, his favorite. "Why did you fight flash's gang?" He asked casually as he enjoyed the taste of the goat.

Shade smiled sheepishly, he wasn't expecting his brother to know but word traveled fast within the city. "Well..." Shade spend the next few minutes explaining to Arsenic what had happened to him today. When he told him that the dragoness he had helped had invited him to her pavilion Arsenic stopped eating and stared, wide eyed, at his brother. Arsenic knew that his brother would never pick a fight without a reason, but this was completely unexpected.

"I can't believe you actually met someone new." Said Arsenic a few seconds after Shade finished his story, he knew his brother wasn't the social kind of dragon so this came as quiet a shock. "And you took the time to talk to her."

Shade looked away from his brother, a little uncomfortable with the the stare he was giving him. "I didn't have much of a choice." He mumbled feeling a bit awkward.

"That's beside the point, you could have left right after you got her to her pavilion." Replied Arsenic, pointing to his brother with the piece of meat he held in his paw. Shade kept staring at what was left of his food, he didn't really know why he hadn't just done that. "Is she pretty?"

Shade looked up at his brother, truth be told he didn't take the time really look at her. "I'm not really sure." He said finally, his brother raised a brow. "I didn't really looked at her like that."

"It's alright, you can tell me tomorrow." Said Arsenic, trying to change the subject so his brother wouldn't feel more awkward. Shade raise a brow at his statement. "You a re going to see her tomorrow, right?"

"I'm not sure."

"Aw, come on, Shade. Why not? I think it would be good for you if you went out more and talked to other dragons besides me."

"Fine, I'll go." Shade reluctantly gave in, not really in the mood to be lectured about how he should be more social.

"That's the spirit!" Said Arsenic grinning, he didn't like pushing his brother to do stuff he didn't want but felt that this was important for him. Shade just huffed and laid his head down, ready to sleep. Arsenic smiled at his younger sibling, he knew he would go through with it, so he decide to rest himself. He was looking forward to spending a whole day with Astra, and knowing that Shade wouldn't be alone made him even happier.

Shade, on the other hand, wasn't completely sure about this but felt that it may be the first step he would have to take to mend his life, he sighed and closed his eyes to sleep. He envisioned himself in the future with a mate and offspring, he smiled to himself, a new hope inside of him. He sighed again, this time a content sigh and fell asleep.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter three

Blazze walked from his village's market to his pavilion, it was already late in the afternoon and the sun had already set. Today had been a bad day for his business. Since the news of the apes venturing more and more into dragon territory, most hunters were scared to leave their homes. Provisions were getting scarce, and the small villages were feeling the worst of it. He sighed as he watched the normally crowded streets deserted, no one wanted to be outside in case the apes showed up.

When he arrived to his home he was immediately greeted by a tiny dragoness who hugged his front leg affectionately, Blazze smiled down to her. His daughter, Star, alongside with his mate, Lumina, were his sole reason for waking up in the morning. Blazze was glad to finally be home so he could spend some time with the dragons that mattered the most to him.

"Daddy, you are finally home!" She was happy that his father was safe and sound, she didn't fully grasp the concept of what was happening, but seeing her mother anxious made her worry.

"Hey sweety, how was your day?" Asked Blazze as he sat down so he could give his daughter a kiss.

"Boring." She said nuzzling her father. "We stayed all day home, mommy doesn't want me to go to school."

Blazze was a little surprised by this, but understood his mate's reasoning. Both of them were scared for their safety, and had been considering moving to a bigger, safer city. "Don't worry, Sweetheart. It won't be for long." He desperately wanted to believe what he was telling his daughter, but it seemed that things would get a lot worse before they got any better.

That's when a yellow dragoness walked into the main chamber of the pavilion, she looked down to the two of them and a smile tugged at her cheek.

When Blazze saw her he stood up and walked to her, he wrapped his wings around her and she rested her head on his chest. "Did you miss me?" He asked teasingly, Lumina looked up to him still smiling and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "That's what I thought." He said as he nuzzled her cheek. Lumina cooed softly, delighted to have her mate with her, safe and sound. Star squished in between the lovers and rested her head against her father's leg, in that moment everything felt at peace for the young couple and their offspring.

Their peaceful moment was shattered when a roar pierced the night's air, they all were startled by the suddenness of it but immediately recognized what it meant, an alarm. Lumina looked Blazze in the eye, worry written all over her face. "I know." He whispered into her ear. By now Star was already panicking, she looked at both her parents through teary eyes. "Take Star and run away as fast as you can."

"I'm not leaving without you!" Lumina stomped her paw, decided not to leave her mate behind.

Blazze sighed, she was one stubborn dragoness. "You have to take care of Star first." He said calmly, looking straight into her eyes. "Go to Warfang and tell the guardians, I'll meet you there. I promise." He gave her a kiss on the forehead, the kind he would give her when she was anxious and he wanted to calm her mind. Lumina's eyes began to water, she snatched Star by the tail and ran out of the pavilion, Blazze following after her. Once outside she gave her mate one last look before beating her wing and flying of into the night.

Blazze gazed at his love as she disappeared in the distance, he then turned around. Most dragons were coming out of their homes, all of them wore the same expression on their face. Blazze turned to look beyond the edge of the village, his eyes caught movement in the shadows. He lowered his body to the ground, his wings spread wide and a snarl on his face. Then the apes burst out of the shadows and charged at the villagers.

Arsenic walked through the packed streets of Warfang, a broad smile on his face. Some of the inhabitants stared at him, but he was happy and didn't care showing it. Today would be a great day for him and his brother, he hoped. He was glad Shade wouldn't spend another day all by himself, he almost seemed happier this morning. He smiled more often this morning, it almost seemed like nothing bad ever happened to him. Thinking about this made his own smile grow wider, his brother was the most important dragon in his life, and the idea of him being happy made Arsenic almost ecstatic.

He arrived to Astra's pavilion and rapped at the door with his claws. A few moments later Astra opened the door, when she saw who it was a delighted squeal left her maw and she jumped into Arsenic, almost throwing him out of balance and into the ground. Arsenic was grinning now and wrapped his wings around her, giving her a loving kiss. Astra giggled childishly, that was he liked the most about her, her attitude towards life and her almost never ending enthusiasm.

"I think someone missed me." Said Arsenic nuzzling the dragoness in the cheek.

"You thought right." Astra said smiling.

Arsenic pulled his wing back to his sides and with a bow of his head he asked. "Shall we?" Astra smiled at his attempt of being polite but bowed nonetheless, the two took to the air and flew towards the city's great wall. After the passed the city's wall they flew for a good thirty minutes before any of them spoke.

"You never told me were you are taking me." Astra casually pointed out, she wasn't expecting to go so far away from Warfang.

"It's a surprise." He replied with a smile on his face, then he added. "It'll be one for me two, I haven't been there in a long time." Astra's curiosity was sparked by this, she looked at the male. Her eyes seemed to spark. "we're almost there." He said answering the unspoken question.

They landed near the edge of the forest, Arsenic looked around a little and closed his eyes, trying to remember exactly where he was going. "This way." They headed inside the forest and after a few minutes of walking Arsenic stopped and turned his head to look at Atstra. "Hold onto my tail and close your eyes." He said holding his tail spade up for Astra, she was about to ask why but refrained from doing so. She took hold of Arsenic's tail in her mouth and shut her eyes closed, Arsenic turned his head around and began walking again.

Five minutes later Arsenic stopped walking, Astra was having a hard time trying not to open her eyes. "You can open your eyes now." Astra open her eyes and her mouth instantly fell open.

They were in a small clearing in the forest, all around she could see all kinds of wild flowers in any color imaginable. A small creek flowed in the middle of the clearing, providing the plant with all the water they need to grow. Arsenic wore a broad smile as he watched Astra gaze in awe at the clearing, he hadn't been there in years and it seemed to get more beautiful each time he visited.

Arsenic walked beside the dragoness and said "Surprise!" As he draped a wing over Astra's shoulder. She looked at him with wide blue eyes, Astra's lips moved, she wanted to say something but words would not come to her. Arsenic's smile grew wider, this was exactly the reaction he was waiting for. He just gave her a kiss on the cheek as she continued to look in awe at the beautiful clearing.

After a few minutes Astra spoke. "This place is beautiful!" She exclaimed with a giant smile on her face. "I'm so glad you brought me here." She gave him a kiss on the lips, Arsenic growled in satisfaction, clearly happy that she enjoyed the view.

"I hope this makes up for yesterday." He whispered into her ear, his soft voice tickling her.

"It sure does, stud." She said with a mischievous look, she dragged her talons along his chest making him growl again, only this time louder. He leaned and kissed her passionately, putting his other wing around her, pulling her closer to him. Astra began to press more into him, finally making him fall on his back. She landed on top of him, without breaking away from the kiss, Arsenic reached up with his paw and caressed her cheek.

She broke away and stared deeply into his eyes, they were both feeling very hot now. Arsenic's tongue lolled out of his mouth and he licked his lips, Astra gave him a seductive stare. They were about to continue when the sound of flapping wings snapped their attention from away each other.

'Aw, damn it!' Cursed Arsenic mentally, Astra just sighed. They both really had wanted to keep going but it seemed that today was not the day. With a dejected sigh Arsenic pulled his wings so Astra could stand up, he then sat up and turned toward were the sound had come from.

A yellow dragoness with a red, scaly ball on her back had landed in the middle of the clearing, she scanned her surrounding to make sure she wasn't being followed. Her eyes fell upon the two dragons seating beside each other, an annoyed look on their faces. At first she was surprised, she hadn't expected to find anyone out here. She took a cautious step towards them and collapsed, a yelp escaped the hatchling she was carrying on her back.

The couple's expression changed from annoyed to worried, they shot each other a glance before Arsenic stood up. "Are you alright?" He asked as he approached the dragoness, she groaned lightly but didn't answer. She looked up to Arsenic with tired eyes, just then she fainted from exhaustion. The hatchling that had been curling on her back looked up when she felt her mother's muscles relax, a look of fear on her face. Arsenic felt a stab on his heart, it was a look he knew all too well. That was the same look his brother had the night their parents died, a look that would haunt him for as long as he

lived.

Arsenic turned to Astra to ask her to come, but she was already on her way. She looked at Arsenic and saw his expression changed from his normally cheerful one to one filled with sorrow and grief. She had never seen him like this before and it made her worry even more. "What's wrong?" She asked concern weighting heavily on her voice.

Arsenic sighed he hadn't told Astra about his parents yet, in truth only his brother knew, for obvious reasons. "I'll tell you later." He said plainly, he didn't want to talk about it at the moment. "First we have to help them." He said nodding toward the unconscious dragoness and the hatchling.

"Alright then." She replied looking at her paws, she felt a little left out, but Arsenic was right, their priority should be this new dragoness.

Arsenic felt bad for not telling her now, but helping the dragoness was more important. "Good, you carry the hatchling and I'll carry her."

Astra nodded, she walked towards the hatchling who was nudging her mother trying to wake her, but she was too drained to even feel it. The tiny dragoness was beginning to panic, and tears were forming at the rim of her eyes. Astra nudged the dragoness with her snout, making her jump in surprise. She turned to Astra, fear was clearly visible in her eyes. "Don't be scared, I'm not going to hurt you." She said in the most motherly tone she could muster. The hatchling just shook her head and backed away, pushing against her mother's unconscious body. Astra sighed and sat on her haunches, this hatchling was too scared to listen to her, and who could blame her. Astra could only imagine what had happened to the two of them. "What's your name?" She asked softly, trying to get her to calm down.

The red hatchling stared at her for a few seconds before answering, a slight crack in her voice. "Star."

"That's a pretty name for a pretty girl." Said Astra smiling, Star seemed to relax a little but kept her body pressed against her mother's. "Mine's Astra." The red dragoness relaxed a little more this time, Astra was glad she was getting to her. "She's going to be alright." Astra said reassuringly trying to comfort her. "But we have to get her to the city so the healers can help her."

"You promise mommy is going to be alright?" The red dragoness asked, looking Astra in the eye.

She smiled softly. "I do." She said nodding. Seeing that the dragoness gave her word made her calm down a little more, she turned to face her mother and licked her cheek. "I'll carry you." Astra said as she stood up and began to walk toward the tiny dragoness, she lowered herself to the ground so Star could climb onto her back.

Arsenic had watched the whole thing, he smiled to himself. Even though Astra sometimes came as childish or immature, Arsenic could see that there was more to her than that. When Star was laying securely on Astra's back he walk towards the unconscious dragoness, she was a little bigger than him, clearly a few years older. He lowered to the ground and Astra helped set the unconscious dragoness on his back, he stood up and balanced her on his back trying to set her properly so she wouldn't fall off when they were flying.

The two made their way out of the clearing, Astra wouldn't have a hard time taking off from the small space. For Arsenic, on the other hand, it would be way too much so they walked out of the forest to the open field.

As they walked through the underbrush, Arsenic turned to Astra. "Some date this is turning out to be." He said a little saddened that their intimate moment was interrupted.

"That it is." Astra said gazing at the tree tops. "At least we were there to help her, though." She said nodding toward the the dragoness. "I don't want to think what would have happened to them if they hadn't found us." She said as she turned to look sadly an the sleeping hatchling on her back, she had drifted of a few minutes ago.

"Yeah, I suppose you're right." A smirk formed in Arsenic's lips. "You look like you could be her mother you know." He said teasingly, Astra's cheeks turned a deep red and she had to turn away from him. Arsenic chuckled, amused by her reaction.

"If that's the case then that would make you her father." She replied, a mischievous grin on her face.

Now it was Arsenic's turn to blush, his legs locked in place and he stopped walking. He turned to her, a surprised look on his face. He wasn't expecting this comeback at all. She giggled seeing that she had gotten to him. "You should see the look on your face." She teased.

Arsenic just stared at her dumbly, then he shook his head as if to rib himself of an idea. "Wow, I wasn't expecting that." He said after a small silence passed between them, he smirked. "I'll admit you got me there."

"Clearly." Astra said smugly.

They began walking again and soon they exited the forest, they both spread their wings and headed of to Warfang.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter four

Shade walked through the packed streets of Warfang. It would be at least half an hour more until dusk and he was well on his way to Glare's pavilion. Most dragons didn't take notice of him since he tried to keep to the shadows whenever possible, but those who noticed stared at him. He clearly didn't belong there, he didn't have any jewelry or a cape like most dragons there.

He groaned to himself as he walked uphill. Over the entire day he had tried to come up with an excuse to not leave his home but the night before his brother made him agree to go through with this and he wasn't someone that went back on his word, so he walked reluctantly to her home pavilion.

Shade sighed, he knew his brother meant well in wanting him to go out more, and he really had been looking forward to it the night before, but his resolve had been fading during the day. This dragoness was someone he barely knew, and he was not really comfortable around her.

His thoughts were interrupted when he finally arrived at his destination. He closed his eyes for a few seconds and took a deep breath, then he knocked on the door. A few seconds later someone shouted "Coming." Shade fidgeted with his paws nervously, he didn't know why but he was on edge.

Glare opened the door with a warm smile on her face, when she saw Shade her smile grew wider. She walked closer to him and wrapped her wings around him in a friendly hug. "Shade, I'm glad you could make it!" She said excitedly as she pulled away. Shade just stared, his eyes wide in surprise. He wasn't expecting this kind of treatment from a stranger. Glare smiled sheepishly when she saw his reaction. "Sorry, I kind of got carried away."

"It's okay," Shade replied, the shock had passed but he was feeling a little self-conscious now.

"Well then, let's go in. It's almost time." Glare turned around and motioned for Shade to follow her inside.

When Shade walked inside his jaw nearly hit the floor. The inside of the pavilion was brightly lid and had numerous banners hanging from the walls. Three banners stood out from the rest, each portrayed the image of a dragon. Upon closer inspection Shade notice one of them was Glare, so he assumed the other ones were her parents. The cushions in the room were bright red and looked like silk, unlike the ragged cushions that he and his brother slept on.

They walked up a set of stairs, then another and then another. Shade was starting to get a little winded when they arrived to a door, Glare opened it and Shade held it open for her to go first. She turned her head and smiled at him, Shade bowed slightly.

If shade was surprised when he entered the pavilion he was now amazed. On the roof of the pavilion was a garden , overlooking the city and the mountains far away. Shade stepped onto the soft, lush grass and stared in awe at the cityscape that stretched before him. Glare giggled when she saw his reaction. "I told you it was a nice view."

Shade turned to her and nodded dumbly. "That you did." The sun was almost touching the mountains, it would be dark soon. Glare sat on the middle on the roof and he followed, sitting a few feet away.

Glare watched Shade gaze in awe at the horizon, he looked as if this was the first time he had ever seen the horizon. Yesterday she had desperately wanted to repay him in some way, and a sunset seemed like nothing to her, but seeing him now she knew that this meant more to him than to her.

They spend the next few minutes in silence as the sun slowly hid behind the mountains. The long shadows of the mountains drew closer to the city and Shade tensed with anticipation. The sun finally disappeared behind the mountain range, leaving the world in darkness. Right in this moment Shade's muscles relaxed as felt a warm tingle inside him, he took a deep breath and he felt his body fill with energy. He let it out in a content sigh.

"Thank you," He said after several minutes.

Glare looked at him, a little surprised at first but smiled warmly nonetheless. "You don't have to thank me, this is hardly anything compared to what you did for me."

"This is more than anyone, aside from my brother, has ever done for me." Replied Shade looking down to his paws.

Glare couldn't help but feel sad. His words were heavy with pain. She looked at him as he stared at the ground, his wings where hanging a little loose and his tail was wrapped around his legs. "You know?" She said trying to get his attention. She wanted to repay him somehow and she saw a chance right there. He looked up to her slowly. "You can come here everyday if you want."

Shade was surprised by the offer, he wasn't expecting it at all. Any other day he would have refused, but the view from here was too good to pass. He thought about it for a few minutes to see if he could come up with an excuse not to come but he couldn't think of anything. "Thank you," He said nodding gratefully. "I'll be here every day a few minutes before sundown."

He stood up ready to leave. He said his goodbye to Glare and jumped off the ledge, he opened his wings and flew toward the lower market. He was going to get something to eat before heading home.

The apes had struck quickly and ferociously, practically outnumbering the dragons ten to one. The village had a small guard but many of the dragons in the village were hunters or gatherers, they weren't prepared to fight against this kind of foe. Even with the odds against them, the inhabitants managed to repel them for now. 'But at what cost.' Blazze thought as he limped through his destroyed village, all around he could see the bodies of dragons and apes alike. Some of the dragons were mangled to the point were their bodies could not be identified. Blazze clenched his teeth, feeling a deep hatred swelling inside him. Those filthy monsters had attacked without provocation from them, and had slaughtered young and old without discrimination.

Blazze limped to a healers pavilion, he wasn't without his own injuries. He was covered in deep cuts and nasty bruises, one ape had jabbed him on the side with a spear. The tip of the spear broke off and was now lodged between his ribs, causing him to bleed openly. Yet no amount of physical pain could drown the pain in his heart. He was glad that his family had escaped in time, but others weren't so lucky. He felt for every life lost during the battle.

"Cursed vermin." He muttered as he passed the center of the village. Most of the village's central square laid in ruins. Charred buildings, crumbled walls and frozen bodies were all that was left of the once colorful village. He stumbled on what was left of his stand's sign and sighed sadly.

He was staring sadly at the sign when a voice called out for him. "Blazze, it's good to see you are alive!" The voice came from a bulky earth dragoness. She was covered on a thick layer of dirt and blood and one of her wing was hanging limply from her back.

"It's good to see you are alive too, Sierra," Said Blazze when he recognized the earth dragoness. "How are you faring?" He asked when he noticed the awkward position of her wing.

Sierra just shrugged but Blazze saw a little grimace when she did the motion. "I've been through worse," She said casually. Blazze raised an eyebrow, Sierra sighed a small hint of a smile on her lips. "Well, not really. But if I keep telling myself that, it'll stop hurting so much." After a few seconds she added. "Hopefully."

Blazze couldn't help but chuckle silently. Sierra was a typical earth dragon, stubborn to the end.

"What about you?" She asked, nodding towards Blazze's side, where the tip of the spear was lodged in.

Blazze grimaced as he tried to stretch his side. "I'll be honest. I've never felt so much pain in my life." Sierra chuckled. Blazze smiled a little too but he began to feel dizzy.

Sierra saw how her friend started swaying and rushed to his side. "Are you alright?" She asked worriedly. Blazze tried to respond but his world was going dark, he took a deep breath but words wouldn't come out. He collapsed and began to breath heavily as his vision started to blur. The last thing he saw before darkness took over was Sierra shouting to someone.

Arsenic collapsed just as he landed in front of Astra's pavilion, the dragoness he was carrying yelled in surprise as she hit the floor. Astra, on the other hand, landed gracefully beside him. She looked down to him and smirked. "I thought you said you could carry her." She said in a teasing tone. Arsenic huffed and rolled his eyes.

The yellow dragoness was awake now. She looked around inspecting her surroundings, then her eyes widened. "Star!" She shouted as she bolted up and started looking around frantically.

Star, who had been sleeping on Astra's back woke up. She lifted her head lazily and looked toward where the noise had come from, when she saw her mother standing up she jumped off of the blue dragoness' back and ran to her. "Momma!" She cried as she hurled herself at her, hugging her front leg tightly.

"Star!" The yellow dragoness cried as she laid down to hug her daughter. She nuzzled her affectionately.

By now Arsenic was already on his feet and was standing beside Astra. Astra had a big smile on her face, while Arsenic only had a small one. Astra laid her head on his shoulder and he draped a wing over her.

"Thank you." The yellow dragoness whispered and then looked up at the couple, her eyes were glossy with tears.

Astra was the one that answered. "We are glad we could help." She looked up to Arsenic who bobbed his head in acknowledgment. The yellow dragoness stood up and picked up star by the tail, she then set her down on her back. "How are you feeling?" Asked Astra after Star was safely sitting on her mother's back.

"Tired and hungry, but nothing too terrible." She answered with a smile on her face. "I'm Lumina, by the way." She added remembering she hadn't introduced herself.

Astra answered again. "My name is Astra, and this is Arsenic. Nice to meet you, Lumina."

"It's nice to meet you, too. If only it were under better circumstances," Lumina said sadly. Her eyes widened slightly as if remembering something important. "I need to speak with the guardians," She said urgently.

"Why? What happened?" Asked Arsenic, speaking up for the first time. He had an idea of what had happened, but he needed her to confirm it.

"The apes happened," She said with a hint of hostility in her voice. "They attacked without any warning. My mate asked me to leave with Star but he stayed to defend our village." Her eyes watered again.

Astra's mouth hung open in disbelieve, while Arsenic's expression darkened. He had been right, the apes were attacking more villages. The only question now was how close to Warfang was this attack. "Where is your village?"

"About a day's flight to the east."

Arsenic thought about this for a moment, the apes were getting closer. "Astra, I want you to take Lumina to the guardians" He pulled his wing from her back. "I'll go to the village and see if there are any survivors."

lumina and Astra's eyes widened. "You can't be serious! What if there are apes around!" Astra shouted, clearly not pleased with his idea.

"I won't fight." He said in a serious voice, looking Astra straight in the eye. "I'll just go quietly to make sure they are alright."

"Let the guardians do it, they are the ones in charge of this sort of thing." She protested.

"I'll just go scout ahead. See what's the situation," He said trying to reassure the blue dragoness. Astra shook her head, she didn't see why he had to put his life on the line like this. Seeing her reaction Arsenic wrapped his wing around her and pressed his forehead to hers. "Don't worry, I'll be careful. I promise." He whispered softly. He gave her a kiss on the cheek and added. "Maybe I can make a difference."

Astra looked up to him, he looked somehow saddened. She felt that this was not a good idea, but seeing him she couldn't refuse. "Alright," She said reluctantly. "But promise you'll come back."

"I wouldn't dream of leaving you," He said without thinking and she smiled. He kissed her softly on the lips and pulled his wings back. She nuzzled him amorously.

Arsenic turned to leave when Lumina spoke. "Arsenic, I know I have no right to ask, but would you be willing to look for my mate? His name is Blazze and he is a fire dragon." She asked with an almost pleading look on her face.

Arsenic had been waiting for this request, in truth he was only going to the village to make sure Star's father was alright. The look she had in her face when she saw her mother faint was enough to bring tears to his eyes. He didn't know if he felt pity or empathy but he would make anything he could to bring him to her. "No problem. I'll tell him you are alright," He said with a smile then spread his wings and took to the night sky. Arsenic flew home, he would need his brother's help for this.

Arsenic arrived to his pavilion to find Shade already a sleep on his pillow, in front of him was a dirty bowl. Arsenic smiled softly when he saw a bowl full of meat in front of his pillow. He decided to eat before heading out, he would need the energy for the flight and his brother would enjoy a few more minutes of sleep.

After he was done he stood up and stretched his wings, his whole body ached from having to carry the older dragoness. He walked over to his brother and poked his side with a claw. Shade growled in his sleep but didn't wake up. "Wakey wakey, little brother." He whispered, poking him more forcefully this time.

Shade groaned loudly and opened a bloodshot eye to look at his brother, he stared at his grinning brother for a few second before asking. "What's up?" His voice sounded groggy and annoyed at the same time.

Arsenic couldn't help but chuckle. "Come on, Shade. I need your help with something," He said as he started heading toward the door. Shade was too sleepy to think, so he just mechanically stood up and followed his brother outside.

Once outside Arsenic looked over to his brother. Shade was walking with his eyes half closed and his tail dragging behind him. Arsenic smirked, his brother was going to be like this for a while, making him useless in any kind of situation. "Shade, I need you to wake up. We're going to fly to a nearby village to check some things out, alright?" Shade just nodded dumbly and spread his wings. Arsenic couldn't help but smile, at least his brother was cooperative.

They both took to the air and flew east, to Lumina's village.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Five

Astra and Lumina walked through the streets of Warfang, it was already night and most of the inhabitants of the city were on their way home. They walked to the main temple, where the guardian's council was. They walked silently for the first few minutes, neither of them knew what to say to the other.

Star was the one that broke the ice. "Is Arsenic your mate?" She asked bluntly.

The question caught Astra by surprise, making her blush a deep shade of crimson. Lumina saw the blue dragoness's reaction and immediately scolded her daughter. "Star! You can't ask that sort of question like that," she gave her daughter a disapproving look.

Star whimpered. "But why?" She asked her voice slightly cracking.

Astra piped in before Lumina could verbally lash at Star again. "It's alright," She said reassuringly. "The question just caught me by surprise that's all." Lumina looked at her and Astra smiled cocking her head to the side.

A few more quiet seconds passed between them before Lumina spoke again. "So is he your mate?"

Astra was quiet for a few second, she didn't know how to answer the question. She and Arsenic were close alright, but not as close as mates. She did want to spend the rest of her life with Arsenic, but she was not sure if he felt the same way. "We are close, but not mates," She answered after choosing her words carefully.

"Oh, I thought you were. Sorry."

"Don't worry. It's not like I don't want to, but I'm not sure if he feels the same way," Astra said as she stared down to the floor ahead.

Lumina smiled, she knew that feeling well. Blazze and her had been the same way. "Well, I can tell you that he cares a lot about you," She said trying to cheer the blue dragoness up.

"How can you know?" Astra asked raising a brow.

"By the way he looks at you," Lumina stated matter-of-factly without looking at her. "The way he looks at you makes it crystal clear that he cares a lot."

Astra didn't know how to answer. She wanted to believe the words that were coming out of her mouth, she really did, but she couldn't trust her completely. "I'm not sure."

Lumina understood completely, after all, she was a stranger to her. "It's alright," She said dismissively. "You'll see what I mean." She winked at Astra.

Astra fell silent for a couple of minutes, considering the lightning dragoness's word. "So... How is your mate?"

Lumina smiled, she was expecting the question. "Well..."

"Tell me, where are we going again?" Asked Shade. They had been flying for a few hours now, the moons had already reached the peak of their climb and would be descending soon. For a while Shade had been following his brother mechanically as they made their way across the sky, but now he was awake enough to question him.

"We are going to scout a village that has been attacked," Arsenic said for what felt like the millionth time that night, Shade had asked him this same question before always getting the same answer. So far his only reply had been an unintelligible mumble.

"But why are we going?" He asked, making emphasis on 'we'. He had been asleep when his brother had asked for his help and now he was cursing himself for not asking exactly why he needed him.

Arsenic sighed, now that his brother was fully conscious he would have to explain everything to him.

After Arsenic was done explaining everything, from how he and Astra were interrupted, to the missing mate and the hatchling. Shade nodded in understanding, his brother would need of his special abilities in case there was trouble, and he was glad to help him.

Something else occurred to him after hearing how he had met the yellow dragoness on their secret clearing and a mischievous smile formed in his lips. "So, how was your day with Astra?" He Asked.

Arsenic smirked, he was expecting this question. His brother had always been interested in his romantic life, and since there were no secrets between them he didn't mind telling. He took a deep breath and let it out in a happy sight. "Brother, I think she might be the one," He said, a broad smile on his face.

Shade was surprised, he had never seen his brother act this way. He snickered. "What?"

Arsenic glared at him. "I'm serious." Shade's half smile disappeared. "I really like her. Everything about her. I think I'm in love with her." With every sentence his smile grew wider, until he was fully showing his long fangs.

Shade was baffled. His brother had been with other dragoness's before but not once he had said that he was in love. Shade couldn't help but feel a little jealous of his brother. "Wow..." Was the only thing that he could think to say, everything else escaped him. After a minute or so he looked over to his brother. "I'm happy for you Arsenic!" He said smiling broadly.

Arsenic was still grinning, all the while his brother was thinking of something to say he was daydreaming with Astra. "Thanks, bro," He said and winked at him.

"When are you going to tell her, though?"

"I'm not sure," Arsenic said twisting his lips in deep thought. "I want it to be on a special occasion, you know? Make it something she will never forget."

Shade nodded, he had nothing to say. He wasn't exactly expert in this sort of things, the only thing he could do was agree with his brother.

A few minutes passed in silence as they glided silently through the night sky. Arsenic suddenly remembered that his brother had a date of his own and a mischievous smile formed in his lips. "How was your date with this red dragoness?" He asked, looking at Shade from the corner of his eye.

Shade stiffened a little, he didn't consider his outing to be a date. "Alright, I guess."

"What do you mean?" Asked Arsenic inquisitively.

"We just watched the sunset, that's all."

"That's it? You didn't even talk to her?" Arsenic asked, somewhat surprised by his brother's answer.

Shade narrowed his eyes a little, what else was he supposed to do? He did what he had gone out to do. "We talked a little."

Arsenic sighed. His brother still had a lot to learn, and at this pace it would take him more than a lifetime. Shade was socially inept, and who could blame him? He had been through a lot, just like him, but Shade was younger than him when their parents died, making his trauma was more severe. Arsenic had to grow out of his because he had no choice, but Shade always had him to look out for him. In times like these Arsenic regretted being so overprotective, but he would make everything in his power to help his brother overcome his traumas. He faked a smirk. "Did you at least take a good look at

her?"

Shade nodded, a small hint of a smile on his lips. Arsenic raised a brow, asking a silent question. "She's pretty alright."

"Well, that's a start." Arsenic smiled genuinely. "What else?"

"I don't know, she seems very kind. A little naive, maybe." This were the traits of Glare's personality that had stuck with him, also another thing came to his mind. "And she has pretty eyes, bright orange, like fire."

Arsenic pondered on Shade's description of this fire dragoness, he tried to make a mental image of her. Arsenic smiled. "She sounds nice."

Shade nodded as he thought about the fire breather. "She invited me again tomorrow," He stated.

"I'm guessing you'll go, right?" Shade nodded. "Good. Be sure to talk to her a little this time, get to know her."

"Sure," Shade replied plainly.

"Come on, Shade. Just try," Arsenic said trying to get his brother more enthusiastic, but Shade just mumbled.

The brothers landed when they saw the village was nearby. It was already morning and the sun was shining down on them, warming their bodies. Arsenic took the lead and Shade followed closely, keeping an eye out for trouble.

When they were within the limits of the village Arsenic turned his head to Shade and nodded once. Shade nodded and silently melted into his brother's shadow, using it as cover in case a fight broke out they could have the advantage.

Arsenic walked in the village with his guard high. At first everything was quiet, not a single soul on the street, but as soon as he got to the center of the village his jaw nearly hit the floor. Everything was in ruins and corpses were scattered around the rubble. Arsenic felt like he was going to throw up, his breath got shorter and he was hyperventilating. He felt lightheaded, like he was about to pass out. He felt pressure on his shoulder and immediately went into an offensive stance, ready to pounce on whoever had touched him.

Shade recoiled a few paces, his brother wore a savage snarl on his face. Shade had never seen his brother like this, his longer than average fangs and neon yellow eyes were enough to make the meanest of the dragons to flinch. "Arsenic, it's me. You have to relax," Shade said, trying to get his brother to sit down so he could compose himself.

Arsenic took a deep breath and sat down on his haunches. He stared at his brother's feet for a few seconds trying to regain his composure. Shade was surprised by the way his brother was acting, he was shaken too but he had never seen Arsenic so on edge. It made him worry, maybe coming here wasn't such a good idea.

Arsenic looked up to Shade to see he was staring at him, worry written all over his face. Arsenic closed his eyes for a few second and whispered. "I'm alright." He opened his eyes to look at Shade in the face. "I'm alright," He said, louder this time. He said it more to himself than to Shade. He stood up and looked around, making an effort to avert his eyes from the bodies that peppered the streets.

"What do you think we should do?" Shade asked, trying to get his brother's attention away from the scene.

"We should look for survivors," He replied. He had gotten himself under control and he was once again taking charge.

They didn't take their first step before a voice shouted. "Who goes there?"

Arsenic and Shade snapped their head's towards where the voice came from. A bulky green dragoness with her right wing covered in an ice cast walked towards them. The dragoness stopped dead in her tracks when she saw them, she wore a puzzled look on her face.

"Who are you?" She asked as she eyed both males curiously. Arsenic was a bit Shorter than her and not nearly as well toned as her. Shade was almost a head smaller and a lot skinnier, making him look rather insignificant.

Arsenic took a step forward and answered. "My name is Arsenic and this is my brother Shadeus." He nodded towards Shade, who was standing still with his eyes fixed on the bulky dragoness. Arsenic continued. "We are here because we heard there was an attack and we wanted to lend our assistance."

The dragoness raised a brow. "You were all the guardians send?"

Arsenic didn't like the way she said it and his brow furrowed. "Actually, we are here on our own," Arsenic said bitterly.

"Why in the Ancestor's name would you come here on your own?"

Arsenic felt a low growl forming in the pit of his throat, this dragoness was starting to get under his scales. Why couldn't she be happy that someone had enough of a heart to show up and offer help.

Shade saw the poisonous glare that his brother was giving this dragoness, so he decided to intervene before his brother's short temper got the better of him. "Because we want to help other dragons in need." He said plainly, stepping forward so he would be standing besides his brother. Arsenic was surprised that shade had spoken, he turned his head to stare at him, his rage all gone now.

The dragoness sighed. "I'm sorry for the way I spoke, it's just that we've been under a lot of stress." She looked rather worn out. Her scales looked dull and dirty, her eyes had bags under them. Both brothers nodded in understanding. The green dragoness nodded. "Let's go to the infirmary, you can ask if anyone needs help there."

The dragoness, which they learned was named Sierra, led the brothers through the village. She explained in detail what had happened the night before, how the apes used the cover of the night to attack by surprise. Thankfully the village had a guard that alerted the inhabitants and bought them precious seconds to get ready or flee. Surprisingly the effort of the dragons was enough to drive the apes back, giving them time to rest for now.

The group arrived at the infirmary, which consisted of improvised pavilions the earth dragons had made for the wounded. All around there were barricades of ice and earth and sentinels patrolled the perimeter. When the approached the entrance loud hoot began to echo throughout the streets, Sierra turned toward the source and lowered herself to a defensive stance.

Shade looked at Arsenic, who nodded. Shade melted into a shadows again and used his brother's shadow to hide himself. Arsenic growled and adopted a defensive stance, this was the first time he and Shade would fight apes so he felt a little nervous.

Many dragons took to the air to rain their elements down on the upcoming threat, while others stayed on the ground to defend the infirmary. Arsenic waited for the first ape to show, when he saw the first primate he inhaled deeply. As if on cue all the airborne dragons breathed their elements at the apes, making them scream as they ran for cover but not before they managed to throw their spears at the dragons above. The dragons scrambled in the air, trying to evade the spears. Few unlucky dragons were hit and had to land, only one fell form the sky to a certain death.

Seeing the dragon fall from the sky made Arsenic's blood boil. He turned to the apes, hate seemed to emanate from his neon yellow eyes. Arsenic charged at the apes with his fangs bared, his tail blade and claws were covered in green, poisonous energy. He jumped onto the first ape, bringing him to the ground, and sunk his fang into his neck. He injecting his deadly poison into the primate's bloodstream. He quickly stood up and prepare for the next ape as the one he had attacked clawed at his neck, trying to get the burning poison out. Arsenic spun around on his paws using his tail blade to cut another ape's throat. Without loosing a beat, he jumped with his claws outstretched. Using his body weight he knocked two more apes to the ground and spat a glob of poison in their faces, melting their skin away.

Arsenic was about to jump onto another enemy when a heavy hammer struck him on the side and send him skidding across the street. The wind was forced out of his lungs by the brutal blow, his side throbbed in pain. As he tried to regain his lost breath the ape walked to him, a twisted smile on his face. The primate raise his hammer up, ready to end Arsenic's life. The ape's throat was slit before he could bring the hammer down on Arsenic's head. Shade had jumped out of the shadows in front of the attacker, and used his claws to cut open the ape's throat.

Shade took a defensive stance in front of his brother so he could regain his breath. Seeing the green dragon down made the apes more bloodthirsty and they rushed forward, eager for a kill. Shade growled and breathe his shadow fire at the charging apes. The screams of the apes filled the air as they were scorched by the black fire.

By now other dragons had rushed to them and provided cover for the brothers. Shade, seeing that he was clear for now, turned to Arsenic, who was struggling to stand up. Shade stood by his side to support him. "Are you alright?" He asked worriedly.

"I'm fine," Arsenic muttered, his eyes burning with hatred. Their attention was drawn by the angered roar of an ice dragon who had two apes latched to his back. The apes held onto the ice dragon's wings so he couldn't fly up and throw them off. The blue dragon was shaking frantically, trying to throw the apes off his back. The apes drove their daggers through the dragon's flesh, making him cry out in agony. The dragon's hind legs gave out, some more apes broke through the dragon's line and piled on top of him to stab his exposed flesh. Arsenic rushed at the dragon's side. He used his claws to tear through the mass of apes on top of the ice dragon. The apes who were cut by Arsenic's claws rolled on the ground screaming as his powerful hemotoxin burned away their skin. When Arsenic finally got to the dragon he was a bloody mess. The dragon was mangled beyond recognition, hundreds of stab wound covered his hide.

Arsenic roared in pure rage, poison dripping from the edges of his mouth. He turned his head to the apes and growled, small drops of poison flew between the gaps of his clenched teeth. He would make them regret what they had done. Arsenic jumped to the air and took a deep breath, filling his lungs to their maximum capacity. He flew low and fast on top of the apes while breathing a cloud of poisonous gas. The apes who breathed from the poisonous cloud began coughing uncontrollably, and fell to the ground dead, their lungs corroded by the deadly gas. Arsenic flew behind the dragon's line and landed. He was severely winded from pulling of such an attack.

Shade was fighting alongside the other dragons holding the line, so the apes couldn't get to the wounded. He use his ability to launch the apes to the air so other dragons would finish them off with their breath attacks while they were helplessly falling. Shade was preparing to let loose a wave of shadow fire when he heard his brother's angered roar. He turned around in time to see Arsenic take to the air and start flying to were the mass of attacking apes was located, right in front of the line of dragons. When Shade saw his brother began to breathe down the cloud of poison his eyes widened, this attack would kill any living being who was stupid enough to breath inside the cloud. "Hold your breath!" He screamed at the top of his lungs. The other dragons noticed the way the apes were coughing and quickly took a deep breath of fresh air before the slowly drifting cloud got to them. The dragons used their wings to push the cloud away from them and it slowly began dispersing in the wind.

Shade saw Arsenic fly pass him and land. Shade began making his way to him, a deep scowl on his face. When he saw him collapse his eyes widened and ran to him. Shade arrived to his brother's side. He let out a relived sigh when he saw him panting but quickly remembered why he had come to him. "What in the world do you think you are doing?" Shade shouted the question in anger. "You almost killed us all!"

Arsenic would have punched himself if he wasn't so exhausted. He had used that technique without thinking in the consequences, he had let his rage take over and had almost killed his own. He felt sick to the stomach when he though of other dragons dying because of his rage.

Shade didn't have time to lash verbally at his brother again because a thunderous roar interrupted him. He looked up to see a red dragon with bandages on his side unleash a torrent of fire on the apes. The apes were caught by surprise by the ferocity of the attack and many didn't have enough time to jump out of the way of the cloud of fire. Their dying cries filled the air as the majority of their force was burned alive by the blazing inferno.

The remains of the ape forces retreated from the village. A few angered dragons chased after them, trying to kill as many as possible before they disappeared in the forest.

Blazze landed close to the brothers, he was panting but not as severely as Arsenic. Sierra ran to him, her brow was furrowed, and slapped him across the face her talons, leaving three marks on his cheek. "What do you think you are doing?" She shouted, much like Shade had. "First, that dragon almost poisons us all," She said pointing an accusing talon at Arsenic. "And now you almost burned us alive!"

"But no one got hurt, right?" Blazze asked, using this argument to calm the dragoness down.

"That's beside the point!" She raised her voice even more. Now more dragons were staring at them, but she didn't care. "You can't act without thinking like you are a hatchling!"

"But-"

"Shut up! I don't want to hear it." Sierra turned her back on Blazze and walked to the infirmary. Blazze kept staring at the burning flames as they began to die down.

Shade turned to Arsenic with a disapproving look on his face. Arsenic understood exactly what he meant and sighed. "I know she's right," He said staring at the ground ahead.

Shade saw that his brother was really shaken by his actions so he decide that he shouldn't press on the subject anymore. He began walking to the infirmary and turned his head to look at Arsenic. "Let's go get you fixed up," He said motioning for Arsenic to follow.

Arsenic sighed, he felt ashamed for what he had done. He stood up and followed Shade to the infirmary, his tail dragging on the ground.


End file.
